The Creative Jungle

In a different world, Elf, the 2003 Will Ferrell holiday classic may never have been made. It's true! Thanks to Netflix's 'The Movies That Made Us' series, we got all the behind the stories on the making of Elf that had us thanking our lucky candy canes the filmmakers persevered. Hear are takeaways on what stood out to us from the production side and the business side, as well as the lessons marketers and young filmmakers can learn from the making of this holiday classic.

Thanks to COVID, in-person video production has been an anomaly in 2020. Whether we like it or not, it's forced us to get used to a different level of quality control and develop new recipes for creating video marketing content. In this episode, we're sharing insights about our virtual production protocol that helped our clients continue their 2020 video marketing strategies, with tips on producing around the inconsistencies of webcam and digital audio recording platforms.

What kind of leader does it take to manage a team during a pandemic? How can you empower your people with nothing but virtual meetings? We dug into our podcast archives to find the answers from 3 spirited leaders, author Mike Michalowicz, professor Michael Roberto, and executive producer Walter Biscardi Jr., whose advice seems more profound today than ever. Tune in for this special compilation episode designed to help you let go of micromanagement and motivate your teams to find their creative courage.

UK based Director, Writer, and Podcaster Giles Alderson tells us all about the 7 year journey of making his film 'The Dare', a perfect streaming delight for this weekend's Halloween festivities or year-round horror enthusiasts. Giles' extraordinary passion for filmmaking, the quality of projects he's producing including his own reimagining of the King Arthur Legend, and his storytelling prowess all comes through in this special hour long convo. Hear more from Giles and cinema pros on The Filmmakers Podcast.

Matt Berkowitz, CCO of Atomic Cartoons, shares a behind the scenes look at the making of their hit Netflix series, The Last Kids On Earth. Fresh off an Emmy Award win, Matt explains the creative process Atomic goes through for their popular slate of kids animated programming, and how they've kept production going during COVID.

Plus, we bring back our bonus features segment for 90's cartoon talk, snowy memories of Syracuse University, and a painful laser tag story about The Video Jungle's producer, Mark.

Is the recent launch of Peacock, NBC's new streaming service too little too late? We think so. Netflix has become their own broadcast network right before our eyes. And TV networks only have themselves to blame. We discuss the impact of the rebel streaming service revolution against the Hollywood empire's traditional distribution system, and how this cosmic disruption affects where you place your next ad buy, as well as the kind of content you should be considering for your next campaign.

B2B and B2C marketing may seem like adversarial ideologies, but we would argue that a B2C creative approach can influence more effective B2B marketing messages. It may also be why insurance companies go for humor with their ads. We dive into ABC's of both philosophies, what's the difference between marketing to consumers and consumers who run businesses? The lines may be more blurred upon a little reflection on how we see approaches from marketers in our daily lives as consumers or entrepreneurs.

Hulu's recent NFL ads got us thinking a lot about the practical uses of deep fake technology. Are there any, really? Is sticking NFL football stars heads on different bodies really that creative? Arty and Justin breakdown Hulu's Hail Mary which leads to further discussion on the implications of deep fake tech being readily available to anyone. The spread of misinformation, fooling the masses, Tom Hanks making movies until 2200; it can all happen with deep fake tech. The question is, should it?

Not necessarily. Don't you really just need a 15sec. ad that blasts your audience with a CTA? What story do you think you're telling in a 6sec. YouTube bumper? The truth is all those marketing gurus stressing the value of storytelling in your video marketing content aren't painting you the whole picture. It's a little more complicated. We dissect different levels of ads you may need to support a campaign as well as the ways you can adapt storytelling conventions to fit your brand's content needs.

Corporate buzzwords spoken in video content is a serious buzzkill. Just stop it. You're wasting precious camera time. Everybody thinks their company is innovative, customer driven, and has the best culture in the world. Whether or not that's true, it's the same messaging everybody says in their content. Don't say it, show it! We're making videos after all. Arty and Justin discuss what stories and content opportunities will help your brand show the manifestation of these terms, while making your next batch of videos more personalized and unique to you.